Digitised National Archives catalogue launched

NEW DELHI, INDIA: A digital version of the National Archives of India (NAI) catalogue of publications till June 2010 was jointly launched here Wednesday by Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch and former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

"This catalogue is not merely a list of publications brought out over the last seventy years in pursuance of the approved publication scheme in 1942; rather it unfolds the history of the publication policy of this department since its origin," a culture ministry statement said.

"Over the last seventy years, approximately 101 titles have been brought out with many of the titles having several volumes. Out of these 101 titles, 40 are priced publications, 49 are non-priced, 8 are reprints and 4 are facsimile copies of the manuscripts preserved in the National Archives of India," the statement added.

In the first phase of the digitalization, only non-priced publications which are in a single volume have been made available for downloads.

In the second phase, NAI annual reports from 1891, the Report of the Director General of Archives and other non-priced publications in various volumes would be made available on the website. The last phase of digitalization will deal with all priced publications of the department, the statement said.